Shikabane no Ouji, Chronicles of the God-killer's Son
by Ivanoma
Summary: Aoba knew death, but his mother was a freaking expert. A "Dreaming of Sunshine"AU starting after chapter 130 I own nothing...I don't even have a proper OC
1. The Seal of Samsara

**_Cloning is easy, all you need is a tissue sample and someone with a functioning uterus...intelligence division arc ch 109_**

Aoba's blood was all over my face and in my hair and when I finally came back to myself enough to wash it off, I found myself staring at the towel. I had his blood. I had the notes on edo tensei. I had the notes on Kisuke's seal. I had a load of guilt at Aoba's premature loss...and, just barely, I had a functioning uterus. I was only 13, but I was strong and healthy. If I could save just _one_ person out of hundreds, maybe I would eventually be okay. Maybe it would help me be whole again. I would, to the world, become a teen mom. I would gain a person to protect until he got through his second childhood. I would gain a reason to push through my emotional agony. I would be able to guide him as a fellow reincarnate. Sooner would be better than later if I was going to take advantage of the time skip before the shippuden timeline. And I needed to be whole again _yesterday._ Even if it helped me not at all, it would be a chance to put things right for Aoba, cheated of a longer life by my intrusion in this world.

It took me a couple weeks but I worked out the kinks in my plan. It wasn't like I was starting from scratch. The Edo tensei had the means to recover a soul from the pure world which I could then anchor to a new body with Kisuke's seal provided it was similar to the old one. That seal would bind the soul to the body I created until it went native enough to anchor itself. Once that happened, it belonged to Aoba and no one else. What was trickier was making sure I could act as a surrogate without rejecting the fetus, or it...him rejecting me. I ended up using my own blood to combine his traits and mine with a seal that would implant the tiny bundle of cells. _Viola!_ Conception. Now to break the news to my family and superiors

The timing would be slightly off but any blood test would pick up on the fact that genetically, the new Aoba was his own son with me as a biological mother, which reminded me a little of an old joke about being one's own grandfather from my old world. it was a little funny that I, who had decided long ago to never have kids, would be the first of my entire generation to have one. Sort of. My having a baby would raise a lot of brows, teen pregnancy was very rare and frowned on in modern times. But adulthood in the ninja community was tied to rank and I definitely had the rank. And on my end, if all went well, then Aoba would _remember_ his past life, which would take care of a lot of the actual child rearing part... he'd even self potty train. Making him a Nara would also negate some of the surprise at how advanced he would be. I really was an ideal surrogate in this situation.

When it got out I was carrying Aoba's offspring there had been a lot of shouting from several clan elders about how out of control I was, and a great deal from Shikamaru. Mom seemed to have trouble even speaking to me. Dad, who still remembered my catatonic state after "the event", supported me fully especially when it seemed to propel my emotional recovery by leaps and bounds. I'm sure he took my mother and brother aside to point this out.

It became clear the village in its near entierety had concluded on their own that Aoba had willingly walked to his death to save the mother of his child...I didn't correct them and not just because the method of conception was derived from highly classified stolen research. I allowed even Tsunade to conclude I had ...misbehaved...with Aoba. Information was never secure as long as Danzo lived. The ability to grant powerful ninja a second life-span would tempt him greatly if he knew. Also, Orochimaru would have a strong interest. To be reborn to any clan with all your knowledge and the full potential of an actual child would tempt anyone.

I was too young and small to risk missions in this condition, so for the next year, I went into R&D. That seemed to stop Shikamaru's nagging as he suddenly realized How long I was likely to be safely village bound, and during a war no less. I needed to keep my mind off field work and training and how much physical conditioning I was going to have to recover later, and I did so by annihilating the R&D project back-log. I was quickly assigned a personal assistant whose only function was to run errands for me so I could keep working. I used him to do my pregnancy food craving runs,...and fluff my seat cushion,... and rub my feet and shoulders. R&D must have been really desperate to keep me. I was paid very well

The time eventually came for the rebirth. Family and friends, both mine and Aoba's, greeted his entry into the world I was given him to hold and, at my request, left alone with him.

" _Hey, Aoba"_ I said. He went still and quiet, oddly focused even with his eyes unable to do so." _let me explain..."_


	2. The Math Isn't Impossible

Aoba was saved from the slow painful death of exsanguination only by the quicker death of incineration. Death wasn't the bright light or dark tunnel, it turned out. It was a long moment without time or sensation. He was memory without thought, awareness without feeling. Then suddenly he was moving as if he'd been standing on a surface that was rapidly falling complete with the ethereal version of his stomach floating up to his neck. then there was true peace. He had a general feeling of goodwill accompanied by the steady thrum of friendly chakra. Shikako's if he wasn't mistaken. If she was trying to heal him then she was wasting her time. He couldn't see, smell, or hear her. He couldn't even feel pain. He must have been very far gone indeed. But he couldn't hear that Jashin being, either. Aoba wondered what she'd done to rate the "little god" remark from before.

Time passed with Aoba fading in and out. It didn't take him long to figure out Shikako was supporting him with her own chakra. He couldn't even _find_ his. She'd never moved away from him. He knew his range was as short as most shinobi. Remarkably, he could hear now. _What_ he was hearing, he couldn't say. Unless it was a heartbeat. He sometimes wondered if it was his own. As time progressed and he found he could think clearly again, the signs were adding up to an alarming conclusion. Aoba wondered if it had anything to do with that gigantic seal going literally pear-shaped. He'd heard of seals doing weird unintended things. (Raido used to swear that Lord Forth had produced sake from a seal intended to purify water.) poor little Shikako might be left holding the baby in a not very figurative manner. As he was beginning to expect, he was running out of room for any sort of movement. And he prayed he would be released soon.

"Life is merciful," Aoba thought, ruefully,"that most people can't remember being born. They would never look at their own mother the same way."

Aoba was not ashamed to admit he cried out like the infant he was, protesting the rough treatment of being pulled on, shaken, and roughly rubbed down.

"Congratulations! It's a boy!" He could hear one nurse chirp sweetly. Shortly after, he was in crowd of people.

"Is _everyone_ here?" he thought. He recognized most of these signatures. His old team, friends from work, the jounin commander, Kakashi of the sharingan, and more besides.

"He looks just like his father!"

"Aoba would've been proud."

More exclaimed proclamations over him let him conclude that he all these people considered the old him, long accepted as quite dead, to be the father of the new him. Also that he apparently was as much a typical Nara baby as Shikako _wasn't._

They held him one at a time and introduced themselves. That the commander was now "Grandpa" and his friends were now honorary uncles and aunts was a surreal change. Shikako's team-mates were awkwardly affectionate, making him wonder if they knew the truth. The Uchiha, in particular, was behaving like Aoba was not what he expected. Sasuke might've had a crush on Shikako that his presence now made very complicated. Not least that Shikako never gave anyone any indication she was interested in romance. Aoba kinda pitied him. At last, he was returned to Shikako.

"Could I please have a moment?"She asked with the quaver of pleading.

The crowd reluctantly cleared out and they were alone.

"Aoba," she began. "Let me explain,"And he knew with sharp certainty that she knew what he was...what had happened to him. He didn't have to break the news to her, she was breaking it to him.

"I'm giving you the same name as before. I know it would be hard to learn a new name on top of everyone thinking you're a new person. I'm sorry about that part, it was the only way to bring you back without hurting anyone. When you died...the seal destroyed nearly the whole country we'd been in. The political fallout with that county's rulers meant I was restricted to the village until it blew over. And I figured I could use that time to bring you back. I had the sealing theory. I had the time, and..."she swallowed,"I had your blood."

Poor Shikako. He'd been bleeding out at the time, but that part had been hard to miss. It had been horrific beyond description.

"No one knows," she continued,"what I have done. As far as even Tsunade,...even my family knows, you and I were in a sort of May-December relationship resulting in, well, _you..."_

 _"May-December!? I was only 29."_ Aoba thought indignantly..." _but she was 13,"_ he mentally grimaced-his reputation was _ruined._ Well, old him, anyway

"I was messed up after that mission," she continued, "All those people we met, the entire town... even people well outside the village nearly all the way to the border were killed. I felt like it was my fault. You were my friend, and I got you killed on a mission I could just as easily have done alone. So I began my sealing masterwork. A version of the pure world resurrection that didn't need any sacrifice beyond time and _lots_ of commitment." she smiled down at him. "...and here you are" She wasn't done. "I avoided medics the first few months just to obfuscate the time of conception. Beyond a test to confirm paternity for purposes of distribution of your personal assets, no one doubted my story. You have a healthy nest egg for when you're older, invested in places outside of Konoha for reasons I'll explain later. You only have to start over with your physical training."

Clearly this Kunoichi could teach him to suck eggs. It was almost embarrassing how much more organized and collected this 14 year old girl was than he'd ever been." _Just as was planned, then"_ Aoba thought wryly. _"Huh, Kaachan?"_


	3. As Expected Of Her Son

"Aoba," Shikako almost _growled_ out. Not even two days old and she was already exasperated with him."you have to drink the formula, Your stomach can't handle adult food."

I didn't want to. The stuff was truly awful. I waved my far too little hands to ward off the bottle. There just _had_ to be something better.

"I know it doesn't taste great," Shikako sighed but added firmly, "But there are only a few ways to feed someone your age, Aoba. While I would do much for a comrade, I draw the line well before _breastfeeding_ any of them!"

 _"Ah,... yes that would be weird," and_ almost shuddered. I reluctantly reached out and made grabby hands in the vague direction of the bottle. I couldn't wait to grow teeth.

1111111111111

It actually took me four months just to get my first tooth. I'd spent my time up to then trying to strengthen my body to sit-up, roll-over, then crawl and even kind of speak. _"By now I have nearly as many tricks as a particularly smart puppy."_ I ruefully observed.

I took my mother's advise about chakra training. Shikako apparently remembered a frightening amount of her early childhood. I, personally, was hoping to forget certain parts. She would sometimes bring me to team training where Kakashi would helpfully provide nin-ken babysitters. The dogs would then either play with me until I genuinely felt like laughing or would stand guard while I engaged in the Nara's most time honored traditional pastime...napping outside. If I was a little weird or precocious Kaa-chan would merely claim to have been the same way at that age. This was reinforced by Yoshino Baa-chan making frequent statements that claimed pretty much the same thing whenever they all had dinner together. Today was such a day, but today was also the day I would finally eat something solid enough to grab with chopsticks- if I could use them yet, that is.

"What if he chokes on something?" asked Mom's Uchiha teammate. It was a valid question, I supposed. I was still very small even when compared to Kinokawa, my Uncle, who was the closest to my age at only ten months older.

"Aoba knows the sign for choking, if that happens, don't you, sweetheart?" Shikako defended managing to sound maternal. I dutifully put both hands over my throat. Nothing but _nothing_ was going to get in the way of my dinner even if it _was_ just rice with minced fish and a banana... not even the usual temptation to take advantage of my age to 'troll' someone as Shikako would put it.

Sasuke blinked wonderingly at me, then asked Grandpa Shikaku, "Are _**all**_ Nara like him and Shikako at that age? _How_ haven't you taken over yet?" He sounded incredulous.

"We're smart enough to know ruling the world is way too much work," Grandpa shot back, blandly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and I grinned. Sometimes I really loved being a Nara. A lot of things I wanted to do were almost _expected_ of me.

"Do you think he inherited your sensing ability, Shikako?" Kakashi helpfully changed the subject.

Kaa-chan shook her head. "It's not hereditary. My sensing ability is a symptom of my chakra sensitivity, which was caused by certain factors that occurred before birth." She was implying that it was a result of a twin pregnancy, but I had been confided in with the actual truth long before now. I was like my mother as a baby only because we were both born with adult minds and had trouble 'passing'. Kaa-chan had Shikamaru to help. She recommended I use uncle Kino the same way. And if Uncle Kino was considered _advanced_ for a Nara, my new family seemed certain I was a _prodigy the likes of which never before seen._ Only Kaa-chan's assertion that I would 'grow out of it' took the pressure off me. So, if my small under-developed body would let me do something, I would try to do it. I was currently working on walking,..oh, and chakra control exercises whenever Shikako could supervise my levels with her totally awesome sensory powers.

I finished my tiny portion and wiggled my hands in what was currently my best 'Konoha standard'. It made several people at the table blink.

"Did he just...?" Shikamaru sputtered.

Mom shrugged, "He can't enunciate properly yet. So I taught him that instead." that was the standard lie for when I displayed a skill or knowledge I technically shouldn't have yet. She casually gave me more food. Sasuke looked like a sudden thought crossed his mind and smiled nodding to himself.

I couldn't help thinking the more I got to know her, the more bad-ass Shikako became to me. I was her sole confidant in all things. Knowing the actual weight on her shoulders made her seem more awesome still.

"It will be something he can actually use his whole life if you..." Baa-chan stopped suddenly looking very upset.

Shikako nodded,"If the worst happens when we're deployed tomorow, then, at least aoba will be here."

I couldn't help but feel a little shaken up,...what did she mean _deployed?_


End file.
